The Moonlight Breed 8: Leap in the Dark by Gabrielle Evans (chrysanthemum read aloud .txt) 📕

“Why?” Braxton asked in a small voice. “Why do they hate us so much?”

“The young ones are full of aggression and contempt,” Kristoff explained. “It is in our nature to be confrontational and undeterred in our pursuits. I’m sorry to say, but you were not the intended target.” He sounded tired and a little sad. “You see, it’s not that you smelled of shifter when you entered that diner. It was the energy you were giving off.”

“I don’t understand.” Wiggling around in Xander’s lap, Braxton sat up a little straighter as he addressed the goblin leader. “What energy? I’m not a shifter. I thought they just smelled Xander on me.”

“Yes, you do have a faint scent, but the energy is what attracted my boys. Obviously, you aren’t a Moonlighter, but as you are mated to one, you have a bit of that magic in you as well. It’s very subtle, but there all the same.”

“So, your sons were using me to get to Xander?” Braxton shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. They tried to kill me and my best friend. They kidnapped us. They didn’t go after any of the pack.”

“They were using you as bait,” Xander said as he began to work it out in his head. “They didn’t know how big the pack was, so they were trying to lure us out of the coven to pick us off one by one.”

Braxton looked over his shoulder with wide eyes. “What? Why? They’ve never even met you.”

“For sport,” Xander answered simply. “I told you when we first met that Moonlighters have been hunted for centuries. Things are better here, but as far as most of our world is concerned, we’re still cursed, still a threat that needs to be exterminated.”

He’d lived with the understanding his entire life, but Braxton had only been knowledgeable of the fact for a couple of years. In that time, Xander’s status as a white-pelted shifter had never been called into issue. It was no wonder he looked so dumbstruck by the idea that someone could hate him simply for the color of his coat.

“Oh, for pity sakes,” Braxton exploded in clear exasperation. He turned again and pointed a finger at Kristoff. “Haven’t you heard? Racism is so last century. Get with the times and stop being a bigoted dick.”

The guy chuckled under his breath while his eyes lit with merriment. “Well put, Mr. Carmichael.” Then he became serious again, a hard, brooding expression covering his face. “I’m sorry for the trouble my sons have caused. I promise you that it won’t happen again.”

“Well, if your kids are one of the assholes in the holding cells downstairs, I don’t think there’s going to be much punishment for you to dole out.” Leaning back against the cushions, Xander stretched his arm along the back of the sofa and shrugged. “Most of them don’t even know their own names anymore.”

Kristoff closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I shouldn’t say it, but they brought it on themselves.” He blinked open his eyes and looked to Stavion. “There isn’t much The Council can do to them in their current state. I’d like permission to take my people home with me. I seriously doubt they’re any longer a danger to society.”

“As long as I don’t have to deal with them, I don’t give a shit.” Stavion dipped his head in Xander’s direction. “It’s your call, though. I’ll stand behind whatever decision you make.”

“I just want this over with.” Gods, he was fucking tired. “Take them with you. I don’t want to see another goblin within a mile of Haven again, though.”

“Understandably,” Kristoff agreed. “I swear that I’ll handle things on my end, and this will be the last you see of us.”

Xander nodded curtly and tapped Braxton on his hip to usher him to his feet. “Good. I’m going to bed.” He had nothing further to say, and Stavion could handle the details of the transport. Taking Braxton’s hand, he led his mate out of the library, eager for just one minute of peace.

* * * *

“It’s March! Why the hell is it snowing?” It was times like this that Braxton missed Georgia. The white flakes had been falling from the sky for nearly twenty-four hours and had accumulated more than a foot of fluffy snow on the ground. “This sucks.”

“It’s not so bad, and it’s letting up.” Xander joined him by the window and wrapped his arms around Braxton’s waist from behind. “I think it’s kind of pretty.”

“I think it’s cold and wet, and when it melts it’s just gross sludge.”

“True, but it’s pretty right now.”

Braxton rolled his eyes, but Xander made a valid argument. With the moonlight reflecting off the mounds of snow, the night was illuminated in a soft, bluish glow that was actually rather breathtaking. He could appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature. He just had no desire to go traipsing through the crap like the rest of the pack.

“C’mon.” Xander pulled him back against his chest and bent to kiss the side of his neck. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Please? For me?”

It just wasn’t fair. He never had learned how to resist that playfully pleading tone. If he chanced a look at his mate, he knew he’d find those big, brown eyes shining back at him with a calculated look of longing. “Fine. Let me get my coat.”

Bundled in several layers of clothing to protect him from the frigid temperatures, he followed Xander out into the night, curious as to what was so important that it couldn’t wait until the morning—or spring.

Xander didn’t give anything away, though. Scooping Braxton into his arms, he carried him through the deep snow that covered the front yard, not depositing him on his feet until they reached the narrow road that would lead them to the pond. “Someone cleared the road,” he said, unnecessarily stating the obvious.

“Yeah, we need to keep the paths